Sandhill Street: The Loss of Gentleness

By Rob Summers

When a house collapses in his Sandhill Street neighborhood, Dignity has to decide whether to offend his parents, Neglect and Folly, by telling them what really happens to the homeless of the City. But in dealing with Neglect, Folly, and some other disagreeable relatives, Dignity and Reason don’t seem to comprehend how much they need the help of their young friend Gentleness. Meanwhile, Gentleness’ high school classmate Wittily Dread is in fear that her family will be ruined financially. If the Dreads are to stay on the good side of Mr. and Mrs. Mammon, she knows she must stay away from Gentleness and all those Heavenites down the street in Grace House.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob Summers
• Release date: Nov 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310878022

Rob Summers

The author of the Jeremiah Burroughs for the 21st Century Reader series (and many novels) is retired, having been an administrative assistant at a university. He lives with his wife on six wooded acres in rural Indiana. After discovering, while in his thirties, that writing novels is even more fulfilling than reading them, he began to create worlds and people on paper. His Mage powers include finding morel mushrooms and making up limericks in his head. Feel free to email him at [e-mail]

Book preview

Sandhill Street: The Loss of Gentleness

Book 3 of The City Allegories Series

By Rob Summers

Copyright 2005 by Rob Summers

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

No actual persons are represented in this book.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Sluggards’ Lot

Chapter 1 Prevarica Leasing

Chapter 2 The Loose Board in the Fence

Chapter 3 It Comes to That

Chapter 4 Wittily Plots Revenge

Chapter 5 The Bon Voyage

Chapter 6 Wittily’s Commission

Part 2 The Loss of Gentleness

Chapter 7 The Lockout

Chapter 8 The New Girl Fret

Chapter 9 Pinching the Goods

Chapter 10 In Miss Worry’s Room

Chapter 11 Invitation to Leasing House

Chapter 12 Gentleness on Trial

Chapter 13 Prevarica Summons Christmas Early

Part 3 The Battle of Sandhill Street

Chapter 14 Calling Down Fire

Chapter 15 Mayor-Elect Therion

Chapter 16 Dr. Provocation

Chapter 17 The Dispute Over the Body

Chapter 18 The Return of Gentleness

Part 4 The Abandonment of Folly

Chapter 19 Aunt Arctica

Chapter 20 Listening to Confusion

Chapter 21 The Bell of the Beast

Chapter 22 Listening to Wisdom

Chapter 23 No Answer

Chapter 24 The Truth About Fret

Part 5 The Gloria Dothan

Chapter 25 The Curse Falls on Dread House

Chapter 26 The Petition to Grace

Chapter 27 The Navy Ball

Chapter 28 A Happy Ending at Leasing House

Chapter 29 An Old Hellite Trick

Chapter 30 Celebrations

Other Titles by Rob Summers

About Rob Summers

Connect with Rob Summers

Preface

The key to the allegory is that the houses represent persons; and the characters in a given house represent various character traits of, and influences upon, that person. Therefore, there are much fewer persons in the City Allegories books than there are characters (character traits).

Part I Sluggards’ Lot

Chapter 1 Prevarica Leasing

Slothie went home crying because the building inspectors were at her house today.

Prevarica Leasing spoke with evident relish while holding her Padme mask away from her face so that the rubber bands stretched on both sides. At 8 p.m. on Halloween the skinny little eleven-year-old was under a street lamp and surrounded by most of the Sandhill Street kids, all in costume and holding half-full trick-or-treat bags. She looked at Wisdom as she spoke, causing him to feel suddenly, unexpectedly favored. But maybe, he considered, this was just because she had to look out sideways from behind her mask and he happened to be standing at a fortunate angle from her. He hoped for her favor, but couldn’t expect it from a girl a year older than him and so pretty.

The inspectors have been to Sluggard House every week for six months, Prevarica continued, and they say there’s nothing they can do about it; it’s going to collapse no matter what. Slothie’s dad has spent all his money trying to fix it up, but it’s no use. In fact I think it’s probably… she lowered her voice dramatically …it’s probably going to collapse tonight.

One of the little girls, Snivel Dread, screamed a small scream.

Then Slothie and Muddy and Nap and their parents will have to go away and will never be seen again. It will happen at midnight.

Wisdom did not really believe this. The neighborhood gossips had expected the momentary demise of Sluggard House for so long that he had taught himself not to take it seriously. Nevertheless, he felt that there was something special and awful about Halloween night. Outside the circle of light under the street lamp it was pretty dark. Things might happen.

Prevarica pulled her mask down now, looking over it, and turned her large eyes from a witch, to the Thing, to Darth Vader (who was Wisdom). You may not believe this, but I know that the Sluggard family already have their bags packed—they’ve been packed for months—and they sleep in their clothes so they’ll be ready, you know, to run outside when the walls crumble.

As this drew murmurs from the children, Wisdom noticed, looking past Prevarica’s shoulder, that a flashlight was approaching them, its beam directed toward the ground. This meant that one of the big girls was coming back to them, and in a moment he saw that it was Wittily Dread, with Muddy and Nap Sluggard keeping close to her. When Slothie, the Sluggards’ oldest child, had broken down, Wittily had walked her friend the short distance to Sluggard House. Slothie apparently had gone home to stay.

Wittily of course wore no costume because she was eighteen and beyond that sort of thing. She and Slothie had come out tonight only to watch over their younger siblings and any other neighborhood children who had wanted to join the group.

The Sluggards don’t sleep in their clothes, do they? I don’t think Muddy does, Quake said to Prevarica uncertainly. He was twelve, and a burly boy, but far from bold.

They do! Prevarica insisted. She was turned away from Wittily’s approach and still had not seen her. And they don’t get a wink of sleep because of worrying and because it’s a hopeless case. And the inspector, today he told them the house won’t last out the night.

Prevarica Leasing! Wittily was now upon her angrily. Don’t say such stupid things. Do you want to frighten Muddy and Nap?

Their house isn’t going to fall down, is it? Wittily’s little brother Grovel asked.

No, of course it isn’t. Prevarica? Prevarica!

The girl had let her mask pop back into place and turned to her the frozen features of the beautiful galactic senator.

"I want you to tell everyone that you made that up. Tell them now."

Prevarica stiffened her skinny little back. "You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my older sister. And besides, it’s all true!"

Instead of arguing, Wittily laughed, and that laugh made Wisdom feel suddenly quite sure that it was all a mistake, that Prevarica was wrong.

Kids, Wittily said, do you think Mr. and Mrs. Sluggard could be ready to run out of the house and I wouldn’t know it from Slothie? And Muddy and Nap, do you sleep in your clothes?

The younger Sluggards insisted that they did not.

Well, then Prevarica is making up wild, cruel stories, Wittily concluded. She added to Prevarica, I’m going to tell your parents.

Mom and Dad know it’s true, Prevarica said icily. And you, you’re nothing but a rotten liar, and you’re saying it’s not true because you know it is, and you just don’t want people to know.

Despite the open hatred in the girl’s tone, Wittily laughed again. You’re busted, Prevarica. Give it up. Look, you’re good at improvising these stories. I’ll give you credit for that. You could write for Hollywood. But it’s no use trying to fool adults.

You’re not an adult, Prevarica said. "Come on, kids, let’s go trick-or-treat somewhere without her." She started to run down the sidewalk.

Sorry to divide your flock of parrots, Wittily shouted after her, but my brothers and sister stay with me, and so do the Sluggard kids now that Slothie’s not with us. I just worked that out with their parents.

Everybody come with me! Prevarica insisted.

Only her own little brothers came to her. Wisdom then found himself a person of interest, since he had to decide both for himself and for little Favor and Blessing, his distant cousins whom he was shepherding, who to follow. His face flushed behind his mask.

Do whatever you want, Wiz, Wittily told him a little roughly. I’ve got enough kids to keep track of.

He knew he was supposed to be out with Wittily and Slothie, and now at least with Wittily. But it sounded as if Wittily didn’t want him. If so, he might get to roam around unsupervised. That prospect was not so exciting however, with two little kids for him to look after. On the other hand, he didn’t want to offend Prevarica by going with Wittily. To avoid all difficulties he announced that he would go home and get one of the older kids from his house to be a leader.

Oh, that’s right, Prevarica said scornfully, coming closer. Run to mommy. You just want to be out with someone older in case you get scared. She leaned so close that only he could hear. Black people are afraid, she whispered.

Wisdom’s father was black and his mother white. He was the only non-white kid on the street.

I’m going home with Favor and Blessing, he said loudly, he hoped loudly enough to cover his own confusion and shock. He pulled his mask around to behind his head, the rubber band under his chin, as if to show everyone that he was done trick-or-treating for now.

Wittily did not object. Favor and Blessing offered their hands to him, one on each side, and they started on the short walk, just half a block. There were teenagers at home, and he would get one of them to go trick-or-treating with them.

His house was visible from the corner, for it was at the highest point on Sandhill Street and was a hulking three-story place. It had rather a complicated history. Wisdom’s distant cousin Dignity had owned it, and to most people Dignity still seemed to be the owner. But before Wisdom was born Dignity had allowed in a large family of Heavenites, the Orchards, and also the old Heavenite Ambassador Grace, who now was truly in charge. With them had come Wisdom’s father Truth, also a Heavenite, who had married Reason, Wisdom’s mother and Dignity’s second cousin. Then Dignity had married a townswoman named Obscurity, and Favor and Blessing were their children. Add in all the household friends, relatives, and servants, and Grace House was a crowded, a bustling place. Wisdom had never lacked for company.

Because of the arrival of the Heavenites, Wisdom’s house was easily the oddest house on Sandhill Street, or perhaps in the whole City. His parents had explained to Wisdom that their property was not under the authority of the City—though the City refused to admit it. Wisdom had grown up obeying the City laws and going to the City school, but he was a citizen of another country, of Heaven. Add to this his complexion and his sky high IQ, and it was no wonder that he had trouble making friends outside his home.

Ever since he had become old enough to roam the neighborhood without adult supervision, he had particularly wanted to make friends with Prevarica because she was pretty, seemed to know everything, and had the allegiance of most of the other kids. No one knew half as much as she about the latest music and TV shows, and she also had information about what was fashionable in clothing. She had laughed when she learned that Wisdom’s TV watching was limited almost exclusively to the Heaven Channel. It was through her that he had learned that he was daily missing a soap opera called ‘Love Maze.’ (Her mother recorded it for Prevarica while she was at school.) She made it sound pretty interesting, telling the other kids how Cologne (this was apparently a woman’s first name) was presently married to multi-millionaire Clint after divorcing his son Blade. There were obviously things in the world that Wisdom knew nothing about and that his parents perhaps didn’t know either. They never watched ‘Love Maze.’

Prevarica was always pairing off with some other girl her own age, usually Muddy Sluggard, and reserved little favor for others, especially those younger than herself. All the younger kids existed only for her to organize when she decided to play at something that required more than two. Nevertheless, until this evening Wisdom had not quite given up on his dream of being appreciated and accepted as a close friend by Prevarica. But this was the first time she had said anything prejudiced about his skin color. It had shocked and sickened him to the extent that he still hadn’t settled into a definable response. It was just wrong. But what should he do about it, if anything?

These considerations were soon put out of his mind by something else. He had led Favor and Blessing almost up the concrete steps from the sidewalk to their front yard, when a tremendous rumbling reached them from down the street. He had never heard anything like this, something so loud it shook the ground. He stood still with the littler kids’ hands still in his and knew that something monumental had happened, something bigger, and perhaps worse, than he had yet known in his short life. And it had come out of nowhere in the midst of ordinary happenings and in his own neighborhood. He would have to rethink the world after this.

What is it, Wiz? Blessing asked from behind his SpongeBob SquarePants mask.

Wisdom looked down the street and saw that the outline of house roofs in the next block had changed: there was a gap.

I think Sluggard House just went down, he said, hardly believing his own words. Quick, get inside.

The children readily obeyed, and Wisdom, pausing only to shout his news into the open doorway for the benefit of anyone who might hear, turned and ran back down the street.

Chapter 2 The Loose Board in the Fence

Running, still carrying his bag of candy, he was among the first to reach the site of Sluggard House. The Leasing kids were already there, and the group led by Wittily ran up within a minute. Adult neighbors began to show up or to look out windows. The Halloweeners stood and stared while Wittily played her flashlight back and forth over the ruin of what had been a two-story building and was now compacted into less than one story, a tilted shambles. The exposed ends of rafters jutted out over the front yard like so many ribs of a whale skeleton; the front doorway opening, still just visible, was compressed into a trapezoid, the door itself lying far out on the lawn; broken glass was everywhere; and the air was full of dust.

Slothie! Wittily yelled. Slothie, are you in there?

We’re here, the girl’s voice called from inside. Don’t come in, it’s dangerous. We’re coming.

In a moment, Lag Sluggard appeared, half supporting his fat wife Diva and helping her to pick a way through the rubble on the narrow porch. Slothie came next, carrying her terrier in her arms. When they reached the sidewalk, she put down the dog and hugged her friend Wittily with stout arms.

Before long members of Wisdom’s household arrived, including his parents, but he was not made to go home as he expected. Everyone was too busy talking, seeing to a cut on Diva Sluggard’s forehead, and getting the little kids out of the way. He, Quake, and Prevarica formed a threesome; and at Prevarica’s suggestion, went into Dread House, which was next door to the Sluggards, and upstairs into Quake’s bedroom, to watch events from his window. They soon saw the arrival of emergency vehicles from the police and fire departments. These authorities took control, ordering everyone but the Sluggards to go home, cordoning off the house, and closing Sandhill street to traffic on the block. Not even foot traffic was allowed. They were ordered to stay in their houses until an ‘all clear’ was announced.

As a result, Mr. and Mrs. Dread had to tell Wisdom and Prevarica that they could not go home yet (news which they accepted with gleeful fortitude). For the same reason, Wittily was trapped across the street in Leasing House where she had taken Prevarica’s brothers. The Sluggards’ terrier was there too. The police had assured everyone that the lockdown was routine and would be over in a few hours.

After the elder Dreads had communicated all this and had gone downstairs, the children resumed watching from Quake’s window. They were in time to see policemen lead the five Sluggards around to the alley and in by a gate to their own back yard. There the family was left standing in the dark for some time. Things began to get dull.

They’re going to take them away soon, Prevarica said to the boys. They’ll go someplace where there’s complete rest and no worries—that’s what my mom told me—and they’ll never be seen again.

Why don’t they get another house? Quake asked. Or they could come live with us.

"Don’t you know anything? There’s a housing shortage in the City. And they can't live with you because there’s laws about what happens to homeless people."

Wisdom was munching on a Snickers bar from his bag and looking down into the backyard, though it was too dark to see the Sluggards. Could we go down and talk to them? he asked Prevarica.

Her credit had gone up since she had turned out to be right about this disaster (though wrong about the timing, for it was still far from midnight), and he was almost thinking of her as an authority.

She hesitated. Sure we could, but aren’t you scared?

Black people are not scared, he answered stoutly. Are you?

I am, Quake said. Let’s stay here.

We could say goodby to them, Prevarica said. We could talk to them through the loose board in the fence. But—I’m not sure I want to. The police don’t want people outside their houses now.

Wisdom put on his Darth Vader mask. In this costume the police can’t see me, he announced. Anyhow, I don’t think they count backyards.

Sure they do! said Quake.

Maybe not, Prevarica said. Would your mom and dad know it if we snuck out there?

It was very dark in Quake’s backyard. The fence was high, but as Prevarica had remembered, one of its vertical boards was no longer firmly nailed in place. Quake removed it expertly, and with their masks on for disguise, they arranged themselves so that all could see through the gap.

What’s that? they heard Lag Sluggard say from the next yard, for he apparently had heard them.

I don’t want to go, his wife Diva said, ignoring his question. She was crying. I won’t go. We could still live here, I know it. Look at what the Leasings do.

It’s different for them. They only lost their roof in that storm. Honey, you’ve got to accept it. It’s Relocation for us.

No, I won’t go!

Now Wisdom could hear Muddy crying too and repeating the name of her terrier.

The back gate creaked and a policeman entered the Sluggards’ yard carrying one of those long black flashlights that look as if they could double as billy clubs. He shined it on the Sluggard family.

The truck’s here, he said roughly. They’re pulling up in the alley. It’s time to go.

Wisdom not only heard the truck but saw its tall side above the back fence.

Officer, we can’t go just yet, Lag said. My wife’s in an emotional state, and the kids aren’t much better. Just give us a few minutes.

Now! shouted the policemen. You come now! He actually grabbed Lag by the upper arm and pulled. All of you, move it.

Lag began to struggle against the policeman, who shouted for help. Two more policemen came running in through the gate, each with a similar flashlight, and the scene became chaotic. Lag actually knocked down the policeman he was struggling with, Diva and Slothie were scratching at the other two, and Muddy and Nap escaped across the yard screaming. The two children could be heard near the back of the house, but apparently there was no way in anymore, for they soon careened back toward the one-board gap in the fence.